Monday, January 23, 2012

Voyeurism 101

It's an exciting time for wolves and the WCC -- it's the season of romance! Hormones are racing and hopefully several courtships have already begun. We're keeping our eye on four breeding pairs (see The Wolf Conservation Center to Host 4 Breeding Pairs This Winter) in hope that we'll see some promising behavior. Thankfully, we need not rely entirely on eyewitness accounts, our WOLFCAM may help staff, volunteers, and supporters watch some romance between red wolves F1397 and M1483 in real time! These two lovebirds proved fruitful in 2010 and we're hoping that they are up for round two this season.
In the past week, several dedicated voyeurs contacted us after witnessing some romantic gestures (mounting) between the pair. While many of us like to include flowers, candy, perhaps a little vino and Barry White in our romantic rituals, wolves have a different set of behaviors that we should watch for:

one wolf marking over the other's mark

nuzzling

following one another

parallel walking

"prancing"

wrestling

mounting

rear sniffing

resting one's chin upon another

tandem urination conveys the same message as a wedding ring!

wolves in a copulatory "tie" or stuck together -- please contact maggie@nywolf.org ASAP!

If you see any of the above behaviors or something else you find interesting, please share what you've witnejavascript:void(0)ssed on this blog or on the WCCs Facebook Page. And don't fret, it's okay to watch!

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About Us

Located in South Salem, NY, the Wolf Conservation Center (www.nywolf.org) exists to educate people about wolves and their valuable role in the environment, and to help protect their future in the wild. The WCC is home to ambassador wolves that visitors can observe in spacious natural enclosures. We also have over 20 wolves as part of our participation in Species Survival Plans for critically endangered Mexican Gray Wolves and Red Wolves. To learn more about us or to arrange a visit, please go to our website and follow us on Facebook. Questions about the blog? Email us at nywolf.org@gmail.com